Love Unwanted
by cupidgirl xx
Summary: "Don't you know?" She whispered, dipping her head low to mine. She pointed to the door, somewhat irritably. I gave her a blank look, she squealed in anger at my stupidity and pointed again, more forcefully at the knocker. Then I understand. The knocker is a vampire.
1. Unfriendly Greetings

I'd been in England for an hour now, and already I hated it. I know that's a pretty quick judgement, but the past weeks had been terrible for me, so I really didn't care. I was going to go live with my sister, Alice. She was 24, seven years older than me. We got on pretty well, seeing as we were both grown up. But that had never been a problem anyway, Al had always looked out for me, and we were more like best friends than sisters.

'Bell?' She asked, as she patted my arm comfortingly. I had never liked my name but Al almost managed to make me like it sometimes.  
I nodded my head to her, showing I understood. I looked out the window, we were home. Slowly I climbed out of the car, and landed on the gravel in the driveway with a _crunch._

Her house looked small from the outside. The roof hung low, and a little cobblestone path led up to the doorway. The rest of the garden was FULL of flowers, not an inch uncovered by nature's touch. I noticed roses, but I'm not too big on flower names, I'd have to remember to ask Al later. There was a white painted wooden fence that surrounded the entire house. To the side there was a medium sized vegetable patch, which was definitely like Al. Strawberries had been planted there, and they were almost ready to eat. There were other fruit and vegetables growing there too, some I couldn't even identify by name. But I could see carrots, cabbage, tomato. Behind the patch was a bush, topped off with loads of delicious berries that Al was always raving about on her visits. As I walked down the path, I noticed the knocker on the front door. In gold was sculpted a vampire, and in its mouth was a little black metal basket. The basket held berries, most likely from the bush round the side. I ran my fingertips along it, feeling the metal coolness beneath my touch. It was unique, and had Al written all over it. She leaned in over my shoulder, and laughed. A nice loud laugh, one full of joy. It reminded me of a bell, which was strange because that was MY name, yet I was nothing like a bell. But Al was. She was graceful and everything.

'Jacob!' She yelled with delight. My eyes flashed open as I turned sharply, in time to see her jumping into someone's arms outside the gate. She looked so excited, it was contagious. I walked down the path, and leant on the fence, smiling as I waited for them to finish. The boy, who must have been Jacob, peered over Al's shoulder and stared straight into my eyes. His, grew wide for a second, and he whispered something to my sister.

Al looked pretty comfortable where she was, but she stepped away from Jacob, grinning as she did it. Jacob grinned back. She walked over to where I was standing, her eyes never leaving Jacob.  
'This is Jacob.' She said to me. Like I didn't already know from the scream she'd let out a minute ago.  
'And this, Jake, is my sister Bell.' She turned to face Jacob. 'Well, her real name's Isabella, but nobody EVER calls her that.' I was too busy scowling at her to notice that Jacob's hand was outstretched towards me. He coughed. I finally noticed him, and took a few moments to just look at him and take him in. I finally shook his hand.

'Nice to meet you Isabella, I've heard so much about you.'  
'Likewise.' I said in my best posh voice. He laughed out loud.

'Are you staying?' I asked him. He looked at Al, and they seemed to exchange a look.  
'I wish I could, but I've got to get home. I just came to make sure you both made it home okay.' Somehow we were now next to the front door, and Al was carrying my bags inside. _When had that happened?_ Jacob looked at the door.  
'And to leave a little something for Al.' She came out and just grinned at him.  
'You put the berries there?' I asked, innocently.  
'Yeah,' he laughed. It's a joke me and your sister have. You see coz the berries are red, and it's in the vamps mouth, it symbolises-'

'Jacob.' Al's tone was one of warning, and Jacob swallowed whatever he was about to say. No-one messed with Al when she was being serious. You just didn't.  
'See ya later girls.' He said with a warm smile.  
'See ya.' We said in unison as we watched him walk away.

My sister turned to me. Apparently we were going to visit my grandmother this afternoon. Al said I had to wear something nice. As in _nice_.  
After her divorce, my grandmother remarried a really nice man named Lawrence. He was totally sweet. Lawrence had one son named Carlisle and also three grandsons, who were really nice too. Edward was the youngest, same age as me.

An accident caused Carlisle's death shortly after Edward's eighth birthday, and the family had never been the same. The boys' mother left and they all turned bitter for a time. The family had gradually come back to happy life, except Edward. His father was his whole world, and Edward has never quite got over Carlisle's death, or his mothers' departure.

I'd agreed to let Al dress me up tonight; I didn't want to embarrass myself. Edward already found enough things to pick on; I didn't want to give him any extra. Al had picked out a short, hot pink dress for me. I went to the bathroom and tried it on.

Okay so the dress wasn't SO short on me; it came down to my knees and the hot pink actually complimented my skin tone. The bottom was covered with little ruffles, and the material was the kind that just made the dress all floaty and nice. I opened the door and saw a pair of pink heels sitting outside. I slipped them on, and Al came in to do my hair. She always had great timing, she just seemed to know.

She put my hair up, but left some small strands of hair out to fall on my face. In my hair I wore a bright pink hair pin that Al had leant me. Her hair was wrapped up in a bun, and she wore a long blue dress with black heels. She also had on a black jacket, and some blue earrings.

'You look gorgeous!' She squealed. She gave me one of her pink jackets that she'd found, and told me to put it on. She put on a little make-up, ignoring my constant complaining. I started to feel really self-conscious; the dress was way too short. _What was I thinking?_ I started to panic, and Al turned towards me. She grabbed hold of my shoulders, firmly but gently.  
'Stop trying to hide your body, show yourself. You're beautiful. Believe me. '  
'You're a great sister, Al.' Her eyes lit up.  
'Of course I am.' She grinned. I couldn't help but return it.

'So Edward's 17 now. And boy, did he get hot.' She whispered with a wink.  
It was so like Al to know all about who was hot and who was not. I wasn't interested in Edward. We always used to visit at Christmas, but I hated it. Al didn't mind so much, she was always sneaking off with the eldest of the brothers, Jasper. Which left me alone with Edward most of the time.

We got in the car and drove the short ride there. As we pulled up, I gasped. I'd forgotten just how big the house was- if you could even call it that. It was huge. Way too big for three teenage boys and an elderly couple, I thought. Al rang the doorbell and we waited. We heard voices inside, and then the door was pulled open and there stood 3 smiling faces.

Al immediately looked to Jasper, who looked like he was eager to drag her off. Lawrence noticed this, and he said, 'Off you go then, you two,' with a tut. 'And don't do anything I wouldn't!' He called after them. Gran sighed and playfully hit him. Then she looked to me.

'Come along now, Isabella. We don't want to be standing on the doorstep the whole day now, do we?' She was as polite as ever. She'd always wanted a rich, posh lifestyle- and then she'd met Lawrence, who made her dreams come true. Something my granddad never seemed to manage.  
I shook my head. 'Hello Gran. Lawrence.' I smiled at them both, and Lawrence pulled me in for a hug as Gran shut the door.

'It's been too long, Izzy.' He whispered in my ear. He was the fun granddad, the kind you loved visiting because he took you out to theme parks and gave you lots of money and let you eat all the junk you wanted. Even at seventeen, Lawrence could still make me excited about going to the water park and getting sweets. He was that kind of person.

We went out back and sat at the poolside. Their pool was massive, but I supposed that everything had to be big to fit in with the huge house.  
'Did you bring your swimming costume Izzy?' Lawrence asked. I loved his nickname for me; it made me feel accepted, like I was part of the family. Plus, it was different. Everyone had always called me Bella, or Bells, or Bell. But no-one ever took notice of the 'Is' part.  
'Um, no. I didn't realise-'  
'Don't worry, I packed it sis.' Came Al's voice from behind me. I turned and smiled. I hadn't even heard her come outside.  
'I guess that's a yes, after all.' They laughed.  
'Go change. Let's get this party started.' Said Gran. This time I laughed. It didn't seem right coming out of an old lady's mouth. I grabbed the bag from Al, who whispered 'Not so bad this time is it? No Edward thankfully.'

I walked through the house and stopped as I got to the second floor. There were so many rooms on this floor, I couldn't remember which was which anymore.  
At least I knew none of these were bedrooms anyway.

I walked along, I began to hear soft music from the other side of the wall, and pressed my ear up against a door. This must be the music room, I thought. I didn't know anyone could play piano here. I put my hand on the doorknob, and was about to turn the handle when a voice said, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you.'

I looked around surprised. It was dark up here, there was a small quantity of windows and no lights were on. In the shadows was a figure. I squinted, trying to get a better look but he stayed where he was. Then I recognised the voice. Emmett. In an instant, he was gone. I didn't even see him move. But he was definitely gone.

I turned back to the door, and gripped the handle.  
_Emmett said not to_, the voice in the back of my mind said.  
_Who cares what Emmett said? _I answered back.  
I twisted, and open the door just a crack.  
'Go away!' Someone shouted.

'Edward?' I asked, sounding surprised. I pushed the door open further, and stopped.  
A dark shape flew into me and sent me falling backwards, so that I crashed into the wall opposite. He pushed me hard against the wall, crushing me. I heard a_ rip_, and recognised the familiar tearing of fabric when I tried to lift my leg to struggle. Al would kill me. I felt cold air on my newly open thigh, and I shivered, causing him to shake too. He lifted his face to mine, and stared hard into my eyes. His glare was so icy and menacing; it made me think of the cold air on my leg as hot.  
His hands were holding mine in place either side of my head, and when I tried to move he only tightened his grip.

'Don't try to get away,' he whispered in my ear. 'You wouldn't live to regret it.'


	2. The Escape

His big golden eyes stared straight into mine. _That's funny, Edward always used to hate contacts. And who chose to wear _gold _ones_?_  
_But right now I had more important things to think about. Like how Edward was currently pinning me in a suffocating position against the wall opposite the music room.  
He saw me staring, and I couldn't help but notice the crazed look upon his face.  
My legs began to feel more pressure, getting more painful each second. I could feel them pressing into the wall, and it hurt like hell. I could feel warmth spreading down my leg, my body had been pushed so hard the wall had broken and parts were now digging into my skin. I didn't know how I had no broken bones. _Wow, he was strong.  
_  
'Edward..' I started to cry. The anger in his eyes only seemed to intensify.  
'I thought I told you-' he growled, but was cut off.  
'You told me not to run away, not to be quiet!' I burst out. I hadn't meant to say it, it slipped out. I could feel the blood dripping off the edge off my foot now, which had fell slightly forward from my heel, meaning my shoe wouldn't stop the liquid from splashing onto the floor.  
The light in his eyes flared up even further, giving them a fiery edge. He looked like he was going to snap my neck, clearly he didn't take too nicely to being interrupted. I became vaguely aware of the fact that we were upstairs, alone in the big house, and no-one would be able to hear my screams. But someone would come to look for me eventually, right? _Right?  
_  
Perhaps Emmett might hear me. Emmett was Edward's other brother and he was, after all, up here only a few moments ago.  
'Emmett?' I asked. I had meant it to be only a mental calling, like when you secretly wish that someone can read your mind. But, I realised a second too late that I had actually spoken aloud.  
Edward looked alarmed, and then something in his eyes changed. He wasn't angry anymore, he was _listening.  
_  
His head cocked to the side, his eyes glaring at my face as he concentrated. I didn't dare to move. With the threat he'd already given me, I didn't think he'd react too kindly to me disturbing his train of thought. I squeezed my eyes shut, too afraid of what was waiting to keep them open. Seconds passed. I was about to open my eyes when I felt strong hands grab my shoulders and haul me inside the room, flinging the door shut.

When I reopened my eyes, he was listening intently at the door.  
I had ended up in the centre of the room, beside an amazing piano. I'd always been interested in pianos, but had never quite convinced my parents to buy me one. This one looked like it was very old, but it was in such good condition you probably wouldn't even notice the age unless you knew your instruments.  
I could see music sheets on the stand, with handwritten notes. About half a page had already been composed and I never would have guessed it was Edward's work if it had not been for the elegant script.  
I took a step forward, curious as to the content of the piece.

'Hey! Don't move.' He whispered fiercely, as if it were the most obvious thing in the whole world that I was supposed to just stand there in the middle of a room and do nothing. His eyes were focused on me, and I suddenly felt very self-conscious. I hated the attention, and I blushed when I realised I was still wearing the ripped dress. I looked down at myself and gasped when I saw how the rip made the dress fall open and show most of my leg and thigh. There was blood down my leg, but thankfully there weren't any deep cuts. I felt so embarrassed, but I couldn't hide. I remembered the bag with my swim stuff; if I know Al she'd have packed some casual clothes for later. I searched for it, but realised I must have dropped it in the corridor, right before I'd received my death threat. I rolled my eyes; I was such a typical klutz.

Just then, I heard voices and footsteps making their way up the stairs. I recognised Al's delicate voice, and Jasper's calm one. They must be going to one of the games rooms, that's where they spent most of their time. I panicked, thinking back to my leg. I remembered the red drops spilling onto the floor. They'd still be there obviously. And if Al came by, she'd see for sure.  
Edward's head snapped toward me again, and he stood to properly face me.  
A scream sounded through the room, frighteningly loud.  
I shivered. It was Al, of course.

Edward raced across the room, gathering various items from shelves and draws. I saw him take a few books, a pen, some writing paper, and a couple of CDs. Then he opened a cupboard door and pulled out some clothes. This wasn't the music room, this was Edward's_ room. But where was his bed? _I thought to myself.  
'I thought there weren't any bedrooms on this floor.' I said as he chucked the few clothes into a bag with the rest of his stuff, and then got down a pair of pink jogging bottoms and a jacket to match. _For me? _I guessed. He tossed them in my direction, and when they landed on the floor he turned.  
'There isn't. Most of my stuff is here 'because this is where I always am. Put them on.' He instructed and nodded to the clothes at my feet.

'You're going somewhere?' I asked, looking at his bag. I didn't really care, and I wasn't interested to be honest- but if it meant him leaving me alone, I'd be happy.  
'No.' I didn't bother to hide my disappointment. '_We_ are.'

My eyes widened dramatically, I wasn't going anywhere with him. He was the one I wanted to get AWAY from.  
'That's my sister out there.' I said. He gave me a look, silently saying _what's your point?_  
'She needs to know I'm okay!' I yelled. Before I could say anything else, his hand was over my mouth. I was shocked at his sudden closeness; it caught me off-guard.

'Shh!' He hissed in my ear. 'Now they've heard you.' He groaned. He took his hand from my mouth and went to over to the balcony doors. _Oh my god._ _He is going to throw me off the balcony. _  
'Alice!' I screamed, unable to keep it in any longer. He was going to kill me, and what kind of person would I be if I didn't even try to call for help?

'Bell?' I heard her loud scream call back. The door handle rattled, followed by a loud thump as she threw herself against it. She was trying to save me.  
'Edward's got her.' The calm in his voice was unmistakable. It was Jasper trying to calm my sister's mood. Which I thought was pretty pointless, as he'd just told her that his crazy brother had taken me. And they'd found my blood on the floor, along with the wall broken- as was told with Al's scream. I didn't think anything could've stopped my sister be calm when she had all that information, but as soon as I thought that, the thumping stopped. Jasper began to talk again, in quiet whispers. I couldn't hear what he was saying, and I knew that he was most definitely holding her tight against him.

'We _really_ have to go.' Edward emphasized the 'really', which made a silent 'now' sound in my head. He covered my mouth and held my arm with his other hand, and pulled me across the room to the balcony. Tears were running down my face, and I struggled hard against him. It was no use; he was too strong. He stopped pulling and I felt a breeze blow all over my body. Then I felt too warm, so i looked down and could see that I was now wearing the bottom and jacket he had given me, over my formal clothes. I was so confused, and Edward used that to his advantage. He picked me up, and before I knew it I was on his back.

'Edward..' I whispered, not wanting my voice to crack.  
'I'll be in trouble if they find me.' He cut in. 'They know it was me that took you, that I was the one to hurt you. They _already _know. So I have to take you with me. You can't stay here, not now. They'll see how badly I've hurt you, and if I wait any longer they'll be able to catch me.' His voice was soft and caring, completely unlike the Edward before.

'I'm not even hurt that badly.' I whispered.  
'You don't realise, because your body's in shock. You have cuts everywhere. Particularly at the back, that's why you don't realise. You're bleeding a LOT, Isabel.' He whispered the last part, and it sounded as if he was truly sorry and regretful about what he'd done. Personally I preferred the name Isabella, which is saying something, but I wasn't about to tell him that. And then as he turned to face the trees, his face hardened and his voice grew fierce.  
'We're leaving now.'

Behind us the door burst open, and Jasper stood in the doorway with Alice just behind him. She looked seriously angry. When she saw me, pain broke out across her face like lightning. Her mouth fell open, giving her face a horrified expression. _Was I really hurt as bad as Edward said?_  
Then Edward jumped, and we flew through over the balcony railing. I held my breath in panic, not bothering to scream. I didn't want to see the end so I hid against his shoulder. He'd killed us both. Just like that, in front of my sister and his brother.

And even though the wind made it almost impossible to hear, Alice's blood-curdling scream still managed to make it through the air to my ears.


	3. BloodDreams

Everything was dark.  
I couldn't see anything at all.

Not only that, but i couldn't DO anything. Being held back from things really pushed my buttons, and this was ten times worse than anything I'd ever experienced before. My vision was filled with a blank sheet of nothingness, and I already knew that I was no longer at the house. I was dead.

It wasn't what I'd expected though. I mean, I thought once I was gone I was _gone_- poof, wouldn't feel a thing ever again. This was just plain weird.

I couldn't feel any part of my body; it was so strange that it made me feel uneasy. My throat closed tightly as I started to feel like I was suffocating. I tried to relax myself, knowing that panicking would do nothing to help my current situation. Being restricted always made me feel horrible, and this time i had nothing. I could not see. I could not hear. I could not touch. It was as if my body wasn't even there.

If I'm dead, then I guess this must be The In-between. You know, between heaven and earth. I wasn't sure it existed, or even exactly where THIS was, but if I had to name it; it'd be that.

The darkness exploded into a million shades of colour, lighting up my vision, almost blinding me with its shine.

To tell you the truth, I hadn't even realised my eyes were open. That's the funny thing about the dark, it's hard to tell if your eyes are closed or not, because either way you're staring at pitch black. No way to tell the difference. And were my eyes open or closed, if I didn't even have any? But I was kind of preoccupied with working out what I was, and why, to care about some tiny irrelevant detail. Was I some kind of floating spirit? Or perhaps an orb of light? Maybe I was actually still at the house, but no-one could see me because of the whole being-dead thing.

The colours had now spread to cover the entirety of my vision, leaving the ugly blackness somewhere far away.

Swirls rose up, and it was a messy sight. Every colour joined another. Blues mixed with reds, creating tones so beautiful, I could never have designed them when awake. Because I wasn't really awake. My subconscious was taking over as I felt I could no longer _be_ awake. Pink tangled itself into green, a combination that should have looked ghastly but somehow managed to look great. More colours clashed together, fighting to gain control.

My mind became a dizzy collection, and suddenly I didn't know whether this was reality or my imagination. Then, all of the colours faded out and settled into blotches around my entire vision.

_Wake up. _

A voice floated out of the darkness. Was it my inner voice? The sound echoed for a long time, seemingly endless. More voices joined it.

_Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. _

They seemed to rise out if the colours, as if each colour had a voice, perfectly matched.

I wanted to scream that I couldn't wake up, no matter how badly I wanted to. But the voices were persistent, intent on waking me out of my illusional dream.

The colours were giving off an amazing aura, captivating me entirely. I felt sleepy and something told me that I should resist, but I just didn't feel like it. I wanted to float here forever, feeling a dreamy state flow over me continuously.

'Bella!' A terrifyingly loud voice rang in my ears, bringing me out of my bubble- the dreaminess dispersing. Instantly I became alarmed, and incredibly annoyed. Why would anyone disturb me at a beautiful time like this? My dreamy bubbles were waiting for me.

A few seconds passed, and the colours randomly... Went. Disappeared.

The blackness had returned, and with it a sort of dim light. I could feel my body again.  
My eyelids fluttered and then opened.

I looked around the room, and gasped. There was a boy sitting on my bed, and as i tried to sit up I noticed that on me was in a too-big white shirt.  
'Edward?' I whispered, shuddering almost immediately after, remembering the last time I'd questioned his name.

His head turned towards me slowly, the look on his face shocked me into gasping. Puffy eyes stared back at me, his mouth turned all the way down. _Had he been crying?_

He got up and quickly crossed the floor next to my bed, stopping beside me and kneeling down.

His hand found mine, gripping it tightly. 'I thought I'd lost you.'

I smiled down at him. He was so obviously upset at the thought of me being dead, I have to say I was relieved. He'd seemed completely iced over in the beginning, not an ounce of love or kindness in him when he'd first seen me back at the house. The first impression of a grown up Edward hadn't been good. This second one was better. Much.

I hadn't realised my eyes were closed again until I felt Edward's breath on my face, causing them to fly open. His eyes were inches away, meaning everything else was too. I was largely aware of his two pink lips, edging themselves closer to mine.

My brain was screaming;_ stop! You hate him, he tried to kill you!_  
But my heart quickly piped up and pushed the other away.  
_Look at him. How can a boy who sat at your bedside waiting for you to wake up so he could check you were alright be so bad? Kiss him already!_

It sounded reasonable. Maybe I'd judged him too fast_. People have off days, don't they?_

I kissed him. It was sweet and delicious. It didn't last as long as I'd hoped, but it felt nice. It was my first kiss, so I had nothing to compare it to. He had a metal-like taste to him, which made me feel strange and ruined it a little. Weren't kisses, first kisses particularly, supposed to have fireworks in them?

I pulled back, and his lips made their way down my neck. I felt a little underdressed for my first kiss, but I didn't want to tell him to stop. His tongue brushed my skin, making me shiver.

Pain grew in my neck, and i almost screamed. I clutched Edward's hand tighter, but that only made it worse. I gasped out loud, drawing back from him. His mouth was covered in red liquid, which was dropping off his chin and onto our clasped hands. I reached up to touch my neck instinctively, and felt it was wet. _Had Edward just bitten me?_

Blood covered his teeth, and I noticed two rather pointy ones sticking out at either side. _That could NOT be my blood._ It made me nearly sick to think of it like that, but how else could I see it?

I looked into his eyes, searching for any emotion to give me a clue, and found they matched his mouth. Blood red. First gold, now red. _What was wrong with his eyes?_

Edward's teeth were showing in a terribly evil grin, and he laughed out loud. The pointy teeth retracted, leaving only his normal set.

He looked down at our hands, and I followed his gaze. They were covered in blood. I jerked mine back, away from his.  
The slippery liquid made it all that much easier to get away from him, even though he tried to hold on.

He was dripping blood on the bed, the speed of it as it spread was amazing. He laughed again, and this seemed to speed up the racing blood. I was now covered in it, this couldn't possibly be all mine. I panicked. _How was I going to get away from this monster?_ Blood dripped from the ceiling, splashes falling on the wooden floor. Out of the walls came waves of red, and when I turned back to Edward, he was completely covered in the stuff. And then, _so was I._

I screamed.

My eyes shot open as I sprung up into a sitting position. I was in a bed I knew wasn't mine- it was too small for double but too big for single, whereas mine back home was tiny.

A boy is sitting on my bed, he must be about seventeen. I feel a slight breeze and try to pull my jacket around me. But it's not there, I just have on a white shirt, too big to be anything of mine. The boy turns slowly, but I don't see his face. He rushes at me in a blur, instantly beside my bed holding my hand. I stare at our hands, caught in some daydream. I've forgotten all about my nightmare, it's all just a mix of colour now. But I feel I should remember it.

Things are crazy familiar. I've been here before.

'I thought I'd lost you,' he said_._

Lost me?

And then I remember. The kiss, the bite, the blood. _**The reason for my scream.**_


	4. Realisation

"Get away from me!" I yelled so loud my ears punished me with a low ringing, whilst I struggled to shuffle back against the wall as far as I could. I heard a frightened whimper sound through the room and frantically searched for the owner, before I realised with a shock that it must have been my own.  
Edward wore a startled expression, but it also held concern and even a hint of understanding. He looked down at me with pity, like I was a little girl. Then his face softened.  
"It was just a dream," he murmured in soothing tones. He pulled me tightly against him in a comforting manner, and I relaxed into him.  
Giant floods of blood? I don't think so. Not in this world, at least. Of course it was a dream. It must have been.  
"How did we get here?" I sat up straight with surprising speed. I could tell my voice was panicked.  
"Where are we?" Probably on the verge of hysteria by now.  
Edward held my shoulders and pressed me back down again. Something was so comforting about him but a little part of me, just a little, felt uneasy whenever he touched me.  
"Shh. We're not far from home, but they can't know that."  
"Why not?" I demanded, forgetting that I probably shouldn't be so forceful around him. But this was my sister he was talking about. If I wanted to see her, I would. She doesn't even know that I'm alive...  
"They think I hurt you. They'll lock me up." His velvety tone snapped me out of my reverie.  
I laughed. "Don't be stupid. They won't _lock you up."_ I mocked._  
_His face remained serious and sorrowful.  
"You didn't tell me how we got here." I tried to add a touch of gentleness into my voice, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "We jumped off the second floor of a _building_. How did we survive?"  
"We didn't." He said.  
My heart rate suddenly quickened, and I thought _Oh my god, I'm dead, aren't I? I really am.  
_"What?" I replied slowly, wide-eyed and stunned._  
_"Jump," he added as an afterthought to his last statement.  
"Oh." Visibly, I relaxed. But then I said, "Yes we did. I'm not stupid Edward. You jumped off that balcony with me on your back. You did. I know you did." The last sentence came out as a whisper, as if I were trying to convince myself more than anyone, but I could see that he heard me.  
"You hit your head on the wall, that's all. Probably why you were having BloodDreams. You're delusional." He rolled his eyes. _Delusional?_  
"I am NOT delusional." I snapped, not even realising that I hadn't mentioned my BloodDreams. "God, Edward, how could you say that? _You_ pushed me into that wall, so you could at least apologise!" His eyebrows rose, then fell. His mouth opened, then closed. We sat there in silence for a while; me staring at the pattern on the wooden floor, him staring down at his hands. My anger was slowly fading, but part of me wasn't all shouted out yet. I wasn't done being mad, but no words seemed to fit the moment.  
He called me crazy. Well, not in those exact words, but he may as well have said '_Bella, stop. You're acting like a lunatic.'_ I have not been labelled delusional in my entire life. HE was the crazy one.  
And we _did _jump out that window. I don't know how, but I know that I am most definitely right.  
How could he use my dreams against me? I mean it's not like I could help them. Besides, he was the one acting like a crazy _vampire_ in it.  
When I looked up, I saw that he was staring at me quizzically. I turned away. _Did I say that out loud?_  
"Yeah." He said. I spun to face him.  
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to. Either time." I smiled politely, and then remembered how mad I was at him, turning it into a scowl and showing him my back again.  
What was wrong with him? Why was he so charming and easy to be with, yet so irritating and annoying at the same time?  
He chuckled. _I am so tempted to hit you right now_, I thought.  
"Please don't." He practically begged. Oh,_ now_ he wanted me to look at him?  
"I want to." I said aloud.  
"It might hurt." Looking at him could hurt me? Or hitting him?  
"Punching you?"  
"Yeah." He smiled a little.  
"I did not say that out loud!" I screamed. I don't know what made me so loud, but something weird was going on and I was scared.  
He suddenly looked embarrassed and guilty, like a kid who'd been caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.  
"You're not going to fight me on it?" I asked.  
"Not today. You should rest." He stood up to go, but I caught hold of his wrist. He could have easily pulled away, but he didn't.  
"Please Edward. I'm scared." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled fake-ly.  
"I'll tell you everything tomorrow. But sleep for now."  
I couldn't sleep. I'd been asleep for hours, judging by the night-time sky that showed through the window. I was wide awake now.  
"I can't." I told him. He sighed.  
"Fine. I'll be back in an hour. Amuse yourself until then." And then he was gone. He just.. vanished. _Weird,_ I thought. Maybe I _was _hallucinating.  
I decided to take a cold shower, to rid myself of my hot bloody dreams. I couldn't find my clothes, so I put the t-shirt back on.  
10 minutes – of thinking and puzzling over the last few hours – later, two figures dressed darkly came into the room and picked me up. They didn't care that I resisted, they were _strong._  
"Hey!" I screamed. "Hey!" I kicked.  
More seconds passed before we came to a big set of doors where they dropped me.  
"Knock." One of them urged, before disappearing round a corner. I breathed a sigh of relief and flattened the creases the two had made on my t-shirt. Around me stood a corridor lined with red velvety carpet and wooden walls. Picture frames covered the walls and I stepped forward to take a closer look.  
Featured in the photographs were two people. A boy and a girl. They were quite obviously lovers, and by the looks of things had had a fairly eventful life together. The male had black hair along with russet skin. The girl however, had pale brown hair and very pale skin in comparison to his. There were photos of them doing _everything._  
They bore identical expressions of adoration, and in almost every photo they were laughing. When they weren't, it was because of mock horror or peaceful situations. The girl, especially, practically glowed.  
I turned back to the doors, and saw that there was a knocker. It was made of gold in the shape of a vampire and in its mouth was a little black basket made of metal. The basket held berries. It was exactly like Alice's .  
I knocked twice, before I heard a faint masculine 'Come in' followed by a girly giggle. I pushed the door gingerly, and took in the room in front of me.  
A table sat straight ahead at the far end, and laid upon it were piles of books and many cups once filled with – going by the scent that greeted me – coffee.  
Shelves stood either side of the desk, occupied with row after row of _even more _books.  
_Where was I, the library?  
_On the desk sat a beautiful giggly girl, her legs dangled over the edge nearest to me. Behind her, was a rather handsome guy, staring into the eyes of the girl.  
Both looked about sixteen, and very in love. They were the couple from the photos. Well, they certainly weren't putting on an act for the cameras.  
The male looked up, smiled, and whispered something in her ear. She turned to me then, with a devastatingly gorgeous grin.  
"Bella!" She cried, and leapt off the desk to bounce over to where I stood rather awkwardly in the doorway. She had an adorable face, I doubt anyone could ever get mad at her. _Ever.  
_I gave her a questioning look, quickly replaced by a smile.  
"Oh! I'm Jane." She beamed, and shook my hand enthusiastically. "I'm so pleased I finally got to meet you. Your sister has told me such wonderful things about you, never stops in fact. She rather does love you. You know, like a best friend as well as a sister. I-"  
"Jane. Honey. Don't get too carried away." Said her male friend at the desk. Jane stopped and blushed, giving me an apologetic look.  
"Not that I need to give my name, but I'll return the favour of that lovely greeting. I'm Bella. But you can call me Bell."  
"Oh! Can I?" She asked almost rhetorically, in a hopeful voice. I nodded. Something about her just made her instantly lovable. No wonder the guy in the pictures looked so in love.  
"Bella, sit down. Please." He said, coming round the table. "Did you sleep well?"  
"Yes." I said, almost cautiously. I didn't feel the same giddy happiness I felt when speaking to Jane, but he was nice enough. I had a feeling I wouldn't dislike him either.  
"Good. Edward only alerted us to your presence when you both arrived, I'm sorry we weren't able to find you better facilities to suit your needs." I looked down at my t-shirt, and felt rather underdressed. I may have blushed.  
"Here, come with me. You can borrow some of mine," fussed Jane, as she began tugging me towards the still-open door.

"Well now, what would you fancy? A dress? Skirt? Or will jeans and a top do?" Jane inquired as soon as the bedroom door clicked shut behind her.  
"Um, jeans are fine thanks." She opened a wardrobe, and started searching for a 'cute top'.  
"You're very cheerful," I pointed out shyly. "It feels good to be around."  
"Oh I never used to be," she said, sticking her head out of her clothes long enough to look at me. "Not until Seth. He turned my world right around. I've never been the same." She grinned.  
"So Seth's your..." I didn't quite know what to call it. Were they engaged? She had a ring on her finger.  
"Boyfriend. Yeah." Then catching my gaze on her hand, she added, "This is a promise ring."  
"What's a promise ring?" I asked curiously.  
"It can be many things. But in our case, it's a pre-engagement ring. A promise of marriage, but not quite a proposal."  
She smiled so sweetly when she spoke of him. Her happiness was contagious.  
"How long have you been together?"  
"Ages." She said, thrusting a bright red t-shirt at me. "Jeans are on the chair over there." She half-whispered as she walked into her en-suite.  
Water started running, and a few seconds later she began singing some tune I didn't recognise.  
I changed slowly, my whole body beginning to ache, and just as I was buttoning the top she emerged from the bathroom in a fluffy red towel and flashed me a wicked grin.  
"Gorgeous," she sang. "Now let me change and I'll do your make-up." My eyes widened against my will.  
"Make-up?" I asked with a hint of horror in my voice.  
"Make-up." She confirmed. I groaned inwardly.

Half an hour later, we were both glammed up and giggly. It felt good, I'd needed something like this.  
As we walked back along the corridor, I asked Jane about Edward.  
"What do you mean, has he ever done anything_ strange_ before?" Quizzed Jane, stopping to look at me with a frown on her face, and hands on hips. "You need to give me a bit more than that, Bella."  
"Okay, okay," I shushed her, pulling her nearer the wall by her elbow. "Keep it down. I just want to know because this is the longest I've ever spent with him, and it's been the weirdest few hours of my life." I told her quietly.  
"What do you mean? What happened?"  
"Well I can't say out here; anyone could be listening and I don't want _everyone _to think I'm crazy." I replied, rolling my eyes as if the answer was obvious.  
"But_ I_ can? Aww I'm touched." She said genuinely. That was probably the angriest moment she'd had in years _._It wouldn't surprise me._ I think I love her._ "Okay," she looked up and down the corridor. "In here, quick!" She gestured to a room to our left, which turned out, oddly enough, to be the kitchen.  
"Tell me these weird things then," she went on, walking over to a table full of cupcakes.  
"Um.. okay. Well, when I first saw him he threw me into a wall. Then he jumped off his balcony with me on his back, which he denies but I know is true." I said, counting off the events on my fingers. "After that, I have some horrible nightmare about Edward and blood, and then when I wake it's all extremely familiar and I'm scared the dream'll actually happen. He disappeared into thin air, and finally, it seems like he's mind-reading!" My hands flew into the air, and my voice became high pitched at the end, so I began to try calm myself down by taking deep breaths. Jane handed me a cupcake. I smiled thankfully in her direction.  
"Don't you know about Edward?" She whispered, dipping her head low to mine. When I gave her a blank look, she became disappointed. "You don't." She said slowly.  
"Don't know what about him?" I asked.  
"That he's-" she started, in a sad sort of excitement. She made a frustrated noise, then taking me by the hand, practically ran out of the kitchen before stopping in front of Seth's room. She pointed to the door, somewhat irritably as if she could push the answer into me.  
"He's in there?" I whispered. She squealed in anger at my stupidity and pointed again, more forcefully at the knocker.  
"Berries?" A shake of the head. "Does he garden?" I ask, fascinated.  
Then I understand. The knocker is a vampire.  
"Vampire?" I mouth in question and puzzlement. She smiles in reply.  
"Just watch." She says, pulling me again but this time into Seth's room, which is probably his office. It was as if she couldn't speak whilst I was guessing, like she wasn't allowed to say it.  
We half-fell into the room, leaning against each other for support._ Heels,_ I sighed.  
Edward and Seth sat side-by-side playing what looked like a game of cards.  
Edward looked up instantly, and Seth looked up when Jane let out a squeaky little girl-cough.  
She turned to me, hiding from Edward I assumed, and gave me a look that said _see. _Then she mouthed _he heard us outside, vampire senses_, and rolled her eyes as if the thought annoyed her.  
I mouthed back _can he read our minds? _And she said _not mine. And yours sounds like it's only what you_ want_ him to hear. Tell you later.  
_I raised my eyebrow, but she'd already turned around and was heading to Seth.  
Edward was glaring in my direction, as if he was annoyed by our silent discussion. _Or annoyed that he couldn't hear it. _The thought popped into my head, but once it was there I couldn't get it out. Was Jane right?  
Only one way to find out. _  
_


End file.
